Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam says he won't run for US Senate

Gov. Bill Haslam says he will not make a run for the Senate seat to be vacated by Bob Corker. (Gov. Bill Haslam)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) - Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam says he will not make a run for the Senate seat to be vacated by Bob Corker.

In a statement released Thursday, Haslam says he wants to focus on his current job and running for office would be a distraction.

“While Crissy and I will always be grateful for all of the encouragement and support to run for the United States Senate, I am announcing today that I will not be a candidate for Senate in 2018. The primary reason is that I want to remain completely focused on my job as governor. I know that being a candidate for the Senate during my last 15 months as governor would be a distraction from the task at hand. And, while I have loved being a mayor and a governor, I don’t feel the same call to run for Senate at this point. At the end of my term, I will have been in public office for 15 years. I feel like I can be most helpful in my next service as a private citizen.”